The first ASQ certified quality engineer (CQE) examination was given in 1968 to
recognize those individuals that demonstrated proficiency within a body of knowledge in
the quality sciences. The program has become a marketplace requirement for quality
professionals. Local ASQ sections and foreign international organizations conduct the
examinations twice a year, in early June and early December. You will be asked to
designate a preferred examination location on your application form. Membership in the ASQ
is not a requirement for certification.

To qualify for the examination, you must have eight years of experience in one or more
areas of the CQE body of knowledge. At least three years must be in a decision-making
technical, professional, or management position. If you have completed a degree, part of
the eight-year experience requirement may be waived.

If you are now or were previously certified by ASQ as a Quality Auditor, Reliability
Engineer, Software Quality Engineer, or Quality Manager, experience used to qualify for
certification in these fields applies to certification as a Quality Engineer.

Diploma from technical or trade school - one year waived

Associate degree - two years waived

Bachelors degree - four years waived

Masters or doctorate - five years waived

All CQEs must participate in the Maintenance of Certification program. Under this
program you will have to recertify every three years by accumulating 18 recertification
units or by successfully completing the certification examination.

A brochure containing additional information and an application form may be obtained
from the ASQ (1-800-248-1946). The body of knowledge for certification is affected by new
technologies and new versions of the examination are used at each offering.

The purpose of QReview is to help you prepare for this important milestone in your
career. Suggestions are welcome and will be considered for future issues. Please email
suggestions or comments to qreview@cqeweb.com.

CQE EXAMINATION CONTENT (Body of Knowledge)

The following information is reprinted from the ASQ CQE examination brochure.

The examination will consist of 160 multiple choice questions over a five-hour time
limit.

Management and Leadership (15
Questions)

Quality Philosophies and
Foundations
Explain how modern quality has evolved
from quality control through statistical
process control (SPC) to total quality
management and leadership principles
(including Deming’s 14 points), and how
quality has helped form various
continuous improvement tools including
lean, six sigma, theory of constraints,
etc. (Remember)

Quality information
system (QIS)
Identify and define the basic
elements of a QIS, including who
will contribute data, the kind of
data to be managed, who will have
access to the data, the level of
flexibility for future information
needs, data analysis, etc.
(Remember)

Leadership Principles and
Techniques
Describe and apply various principles
and techniques for developing and
organizing teams and leading quality
initiatives. (Analyze)

Facilitation Principles and
Techniques
Define and describe the facilitator’s
role and responsibilities on a team.
Define and apply various tools used with
teams, including brainstorming, nominal
group technique, conflict resolution,
force-field analysis, etc. (Analyze)

Communication Skills
Describe and distinguish between various
communication methods for delivering
information and messages in a variety of
situations across all levels of the
organization. (Analyze)

Barriers to Quality
Improvement
Identify barriers to quality
improvement, their causes and impact,
and describe methods for overcoming
them. (Analyze)

The Quality System (15
Questions)

Elements of the Quality
System
Define, describe, and interpret the
basic elements of a quality system,
including planning, control, and
improvement, from product and process
design through quality cost systems,
audit programs, etc. (Evaluate)

Documentation of the Quality
System
Identify and apply quality system
documentation components, including
quality policies, procedures to support
the system, configuration management and
document control to manage work
instructions, quality records, etc.
(Apply)

Quality Standards and Other
Guidelines
Define and distinguish between national
and international standards and other
requirements and guidelines, including
the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Award (MBNQA), and describe key points
of the ISO 9000 series of standards and
how they are used. [Note:
Industry-specific standards will not be
tested.] (Apply)

Quality Audits

Types of audits
Describe and distinguish between
various types of quality audits such
as product, process, management
(system), registration
(certification), compliance
(regulatory), first, second, and
third party, etc. (Apply)

Roles and
responsibilities in audits
Identify and define roles and
responsibilities for audit
participants such as audit team
(leader and members), client,
auditee, etc. (Understand)

Audit planning and
implementation
Describe and apply the steps of a
quality audit, from the audit
planning stage through conducting
the audit, from the perspective of
an audit team member. (Apply)

Audit reporting and
follow up
Identify, describe, and apply the
steps of audit reporting and follow
up, including the need to verify
corrective action. (Apply)

Quality Training
Identify and define key elements of a
training program, including conducting a
needs analysis, developing curricula and
materials, and determining the program’s
effectiveness. (Apply)

Product and Process Design (25
Questions)

Classification of Quality
Characteristics
Define, interpret, and classify quality
characteristics for new products and
processes. [Note: The classification of
product defects is covered in IV.B.3.]
(Evaluate)

Design Inputs and Review
Identify sources of design inputs such
as customer needs, regulatory
requirements, etc. and how they
translate into design concepts such as
robust design, QFD, and Design for X (DFX,
where X can mean six sigma (DFSS),
manufacturability (DFM), cost (DFC),
etc.). Identify and apply common
elements of the design review process,
including roles and responsibilities of
participants. (Analyze)

Tools
Define, identify, and apply product and
process control methods such as
developing control plans, identifying
critical control points, developing and
validating work instructions, etc.
(Analyze)

Material Control

Material identification,
status, and traceability
Define and distinguish these
concepts, and describe methods for
applying them in various situations.
[Note: Product recall procedures
will not be tested.] (Analyze)

Material segregation
Describe material segregation and
its importance, and evaluate
appropriate methods for applying it
in various situations. (Evaluate)

Classification of
defects
Define, describe, and classify the
seriousness of product and process
defects. (Evaluate)

Material review board (MRB)
Identify the purpose and function of
an MRB, and make appropriate
disposition decisions in various
situations. (Analyze)

Sampling standards and
plans
Interpret and apply ANSI/ASQ Z1.4
and Z1.9 standards for attributes
and variables sampling. Identify and
distinguish between single, double,
multiple, sequential, and continuous
sampling methods. Identify the
characteristics of Dodge-Romig
sampling tables and when they should
be used. (Analyze)

Metrology
Identify, describe, and apply metrology
techniques such as calibration systems,
traceability to calibration standards,
measurement error and its sources, and
control and maintenance of measurement
standards and devices. (Analyze)

Drawing statistical
conclusions
Distinguish between numeric and
analytical studies. Assess the
validity of statistical conclusions
by analyzing the assumptions used
and the robustness of the technique
used. (Evaluate)

Linear regression
Calculate the regression equation
for simple regressions and least
squares estimates. Construct and
interpret hypothesis tests for
regression statistics. Use
regression models for estimation and
prediction, and analyze the
uncertainty in the estimate. [Note:
Non-linear models and parameters
will not be tested.] (Analyze)

Simple linear
correlation
Calculate the correlation
coefficient and its confidence
interval, and construct and
interpret a hypothesis test for
correlation statistics. [Note:
Serial correlation will not be
tested.] (Analyze)

Control charts
Identify, select, construct, and use
various control charts, including
-R, -s, individuals and moving range
(ImR or XmR), moving average and
moving range (MamR), p, np, c, u,
and CUSUM charts. (Analyze)

Control chart analysis
Read and interpret control charts,
use rules for determining
statistical control. (Evaluate)

PRE-control charts
Define and describe how these charts
differ from other control charts and
how they should be used. (Apply)

One-factor experiments
Construct one-factor experiments
such as completely randomized,
randomized block, and Latin square
designs, and use computational and
graphical methods to analyze the
significance of results. (Analyze)

Full-factorial
experiments
Construct full-factorial designs and
use computational and graphical
methods to analyze the significance
of results. (Analyze)

In addition to content
specifics, the subtext for each topic in this
BOK also indicates the intended
complexity level of the test questions
for that topic. These levels are based on
“Levels of Cognition” (from Bloom’s Taxonomy –
Revised, 2001) and are presented below in rank
order, from least complex to most complex.

Apply
Know when and how to use ideas, procedures,
methods, formulas, principles, theories, etc.

Analyze
Break down information into its constituent
parts and recognize their relationship to one
another and how they are organized; identify
sublevel factors or salient data from a complex
scenario.

Evaluate
Make judgments about the value of proposed
ideas, solutions, etc., by comparing the
proposal to specific criteria or standards.

Create
Put parts or elements together in such a way as
to reveal a pattern or structure not clearly
there before; identify which data or information
from a complex set is appropriate to examine
further or from which supported conclusions can
be drawn.